Breaking from tradition

Breaking from tradition, KSU president Anthony Fisher Camilleri delivers an English language speech to welcome fresh university students:

If you look left and right you are likely to find several persons of different nationalities sitting in your row. I am addressing you in English, which is a break from tradition, however in spirit of our institution’s new status as a regional university I felt it appropriate to deliver a speech which could be understood by all of you. On campus you will find an international culture which is hard to match. Those of you who were born here, be sure to mingle with and befriend students from the wealth of cultures you’ll be exposed to. To all you international students, make Maltese friends, learn some of our language and traditions and go home with great stories about the hospitality you are sure to find in our small Mediterranean island...

Why don’t we see students voicing themselves more vociferously about the issues concerning irregular immigration, about the goods or evils of globalization, wars around the world, social security reform or any of the other hundreds of issues that grip our nation daily? I am without doubt that we have strong, valid opinions on all of them, so why don’t we voice them? So lets voice those opinions and voice them strongly, lets show all detractors that students DO care about this country. If the country needs competitiveness, lets ask them to look here, at our ideas, our creativity and our energy and then dare anyone to say that Malta does not have the right ingredients to be competitive...

More KSU speeches from Camilleri's blog space